Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

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Title: Queen of ShadowsAuthor: Sarah J. MaasSeries: Throne of Glass #4Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)My Bookshelves:Fantasy, Romance, Strong womenPace: FastFormat: NovelPublisher: BloomsburyYear: 20155th sentence, 74th page: They’d been cleaned since the last time she’d worn them years ago, the black leather still supple and pliable, the special grooves and hidden blades as precise as ever.

NO MASTERS. NO LIMITS. NO REGRETS.

Celaena Sardothien is cloaked in her assassin’s hood once more. She is back in Rifthold, but this time she is no one’s slave. She must delve into her most painful memories and fight for her survival, while resisting a smouldering passion that might very well consume her heart. And she will face her former master, the King of Assassins, again – to wreak revenge for a decade of pain…

I’ve been waiting to read this since it came out in September last year. Waiting and dying, and constantly having other, more adult things that I should be doing… so when I finally got to read this… just unbelievable, uncontrolled excitement. I made sure that I had an entire weekend free, so I could spend my days enjoying Maas’ brilliant writing. And as usual, she didn’t disappoint.

Queen of Shadows was a heart-wrenching, breath holding journey of revenge, defying the odds, and finally coming home. I loved that even though Celaena was the character I first fell in love with, her change through The Heir of Fire and final transformation in the Queen of Shadows bought us to the reincarnation of Aelin. It was such a seamless transition, that I barely realised that I no longer thought of Aelin as Celaena, but rather as Aelin. This was masterfully done and made me applaud Maas’ talent and storytelling.

The love stories that made me smile and laugh so much were expanded on, I think that Maas is a true romantic, and I just love how she builds these relationships. I was even surprised at some of the turns in these plot lines – which is quite difficult to do. Not only did these tales continue, but the cast of the story also expanded. There were many more people to love and worry for – to fear for and hope for. You know that it’s a good book when you are so emotionally invested in everything that the characters experience, not just the main heroine, but the others too.

Having read The Assassin’s Blade, I loved that I was able to recognise some of the key characters in Aelin / Celaena’s past. Every time that this happened I had a moment of pure joy – I love recognising other characters, it’s like meeting a school friend.

Yet again I am left yearning for the next release in The Throne of Glass series. Bring on The Empire of Storms!